In this interactive lesson, students learn about several key issues that divided Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton and how their different visions influenced the new nation. Their views on human nature, the structure and role of government, economic policies, and the United States’ role in foreign affairs are presented in a variety of primary and secondary sources. Students learn what each man’s position on each issue was and why he made the choice that he did. They then use that information to answer the lesson’s essential question: Whose vision for the new nation, Thomas Jefferson’s or Alexander Hamilton’s, do you support, and why?